Why it works: Allspice and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Directions
In a large pot, combine 12 gallons of water with the mashed tomatoes, hashed onions, boiled rice, allspice, and cloves.
Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for one hour.
Thicken the soup with flour.
Season with pepper and coarse sea salt to taste.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Allspice + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Tomato + ricetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,065 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Form the main body and flavor of the soup as they break down during cooking.
- Raw onions
- Add savory depth and aroma that mellow as the soup simmers.
- Rice
- Adds body and helps give the soup a fuller, creamier texture.
- Flour
- Thickens the soup by swelling in the hot liquid to add body.
The step that matters
Thicken the soup with flour. Flour added directly to hot liquid can clump. Mixing it first into a smooth paste or slurry with cool liquid helps it disperse evenly and thicken smoothly.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, rice, allspice, clove, flour, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Okrafits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, rice, allspice, clove, flour, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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